R: Minimalist Small Monogram Plain White Notebook, Dot Grid Paper, 120 pages, Letter R (B&W Initial Monogram Notebooks)

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I feel like the decision of what to wear is going to be easier...it’s going to take less time. Like it’s less mental energy. (P7). 4.4 Awareness Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Sirgy, M. J. (1998). Materialism and quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 43(3), 227–260 Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27522311. As previously mentioned, participants reported that minimalism assisted in raising their awareness of their values and what is important to them. Findings also suggest that the mental space created by minimalism facilitates awareness in other, varying ways. The sub-themes of creating awareness are reflection, mindfulness, and savouring. It’s almost like saving your brain energy by reducing the things that you have to actually think about. Sometimes it’s people just occupying their brain with these things and for me it’s like I just think to myself, ‘God, I’m so glad I don’t have to divert any brain power to those sorts of things’. (P5).

The current research required people to self-identify as minimalists, which could be a limitation as there is no set definition of minimalism. While some view minimalism as an anti-consumerist lifestyle that encourages finding meaning in life beyond the material (Dopierała 2017) or simply valuing fewer possessions (Alexander and Ussher 2012), others view minimalism as voluntary simplicity’s ‘second-wave’ or use the terms interchangeably (Kasperek, 2014, as cited in Dopierała 2017). In contrast, some argue that a set definition is conflicting with the lifestyle, as becoming a minimalist requires “building and sustaining one’s own self-definition” (Dopierała 2017, p. 69). Variance between participants as to their motivation towards minimalism, the extent of their minimalism, and the length of time they had been engaged in the lifestyle could play a factor in their reported wellbeing (McDonald et al. 2006). This heterogeneity has been problematic in studies of voluntary simplifiers, and researchers have attempted to reconcile this by testing for differences between groups based on characteristics from the literature, or by using a measure of voluntary simplicity values (Boujbel and D’Astous 2012; Brown and Kasser 2005). However, no such measure exists for minimalism, and it could be premature to identify characteristics of minimalists beyond ‘has made a conscious decision to live with fewer possessions.’ More research regarding minimalism and the characteristics of minimalists specifically is required before sample selection by self-identification is obsolete. And there’s just something about having that level of control of your environment that I think brings me a sense of peace. (P8). Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Baliousis, M., & Joseph, S. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualization and the development of the authenticity scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(3), 385–399. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.55.3.385. Boujbel, L., & D’Astous, A. (2012). Voluntary simplicity and life satisfaction: Exploring the mediating role of consumption desires. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 11, 487–494. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1399 Schwartz, B. (2000). Self-determination: The tyranny of freedom. The American Psychologist, 55(1), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.79.The way I Facebooked wasn't making me happy, it made me feel like I was missing out when everyone else was doing things. This was especially hard when I was unemployed and felt bad about it, and saw everyone else achieving things. Then there are the over-sharing high school acquaintances that I haven't talked to in 10 years, I felt weird knowing way too much about their lives but realizing I would avoid their gaze if I saw them in a grocery store. I just notice more…because I’m so part of his play now or…just part of his day…he’ll ask for stories about what we’ve done that day and I can tell them because I was present. (P7). Motivation towards a minimalistic lifestyle appeared to stem from one of two pathways, attempting to satisfy the need for autonomy or competence. A few participants adopted a minimalistic lifestyle almost as a natural progression from a relatively non-consumerist past. To these participants, minimalism felt autonomous, authentic, and aligned with their values. Becoming minimalist was not necessarily a conscious decision, however maintaining their minimalistic lifestyle required some effort. The main motivation for most participants appeared to be an attempt to fulfil the need of competence; to feel more in control and effective in their everyday lives. Even the people largely motivated by autonomy felt minimalism would fulfil the need for competence. 4.7 A Preliminary Model of Minimalism and Wellbeing Many participants identified the idea of saving ‘mental energy’ as a benefit of minimalism that promotes wellbeing. Participants reported this was due to having fewer choices to make and not pre-occupying the mind with trivial matters. Participants described mental space as a feeling of clear-headedness, of space, lightness, and clarity within one’s mind. Two sub-themes comprise mental space, the connection between the internal and external world, and saving ‘mental energy’.

Fisher, A. V., Godwin, K. E., & Seltman, H. (2014). Visual environment, attention allocation, and learning in young children: When too much of a good thing may be bad. Psychological Science, 25(7), 1362–1370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614533801. Others reported that an organised and tidy household was important to their mental health and wellbeing, with minimalism making it easier to maintain this. 4.3 Mental Space Huneke, M. E. (2005). The face of the un-consumer: An empirical examination of the practice of voluntary simplicity in the United States. Psychology and Marketing, 22(7), 527–550. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20072. I think if you put the effort into your possessions and your house and your space, you can just savour the day-to-day. You can savour your daily experiences so much more. (P10).Self-choosing one’s own behaviour that is congruent with one’s sense of self was a key theme in the study. Sub-themes within autonomy included a sense of freedom and liberation, aligning with one’s values, and a sense of authenticity.

Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (Eds.). (2016). Mindfulness in positive psychology: The science of meditation and wellbeing. Abingdon: Routledge.Rodin, J. (1986). Aging and health: Effects of the sense of control. Science, 233(4770), 1271–1276. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3749877. I find it’s much easier…and it’s just not as stressful and I don’t have to continually feel like I’m chained to domestic tasks to make my house presentable. (P9).